Yesterday, on a casual stroll through one of Brooklyn's odder shopping districts with my girlfriend, I spotted a Gamestop. As I had just been paid and my bank account balance had finally climbed up past the negative integers, I decided to celebrate and pick up up Super Smash Brothers for the Wii and get a cheeseburger. There was much feasting. Then, when we got home, the lady sat down with me and we fired up the Smash. She's not much of a gamer, but i got the game hoping that it's simplicity would allow us to have fun and not overwhelm her. After two rounds of beating though, my girlfriend called it quits and stormed out of the room.
I know, i should have let her win. I also should have majored in business and gotten a job at a hedge fund so we wouldn't have to live in a shitty walk-up in Astoria, but that's not the kind of guy I am.
My question for the Dtoid community is this; If you want to play Smash with a nongamer, what modes do you play? How do you teach technique? And how do you make it fun and not scary?
Good luck!
(PS - give yourself a handicap. Its fun for you because it's challenging, fun for her because she wins.)
Give her a few rounds to learn the controls and she'll get the hang of it. Just don't be afraid to tell her all the controls 'cause you think they may overwhelm her (like I did, big mistake). Make sure you just don't say "this is jump, light attack, heavy attack." Make sure she knows shield, grab, and how to smash attack, too. If she sees a computer player do something she can't, it'll only frustrate her more.
Then, just go a little easy on her until she can legitimately kick your ass every now and then. Focus on the computer players until she gets the hang of creeping up on you when your % is high or smashing you off as you fall. Once she understands THAT aspect of play... punch her in the face... in the game, I mean.
But oh, she got to focus hers right on my face. It's cool though, I trained her well enough that she beats me 80% of the time with Peach, and have to be a dick in order to beat her. Wait that's not cool!! I created a monster!!!!
And man, the Dragoon parts... those are ALL hers.